The author argues that a virtuous bureaucracy is needed in India. He notes that while India's per capita income and life expectancy have increased since independence, there is now more strife and instability compared to 5-6 decades ago. One cause is the deterioration of governance and administrative powers not serving societal aspirations. The bureaucracy at independence had high moral values and character, guided by capable political leaders, unlike today where corruption and poor decisions have harmed the country. The author calls for deliberate wrong decisions by the bureaucracy to become unpardonable and for the government to launch a "Clean Administration" movement across India with a focus on moral education.

1. GUEST COLUMNBT
SEPTEMBER 16-30, 2015  BUREAUCRACY TODAY 37www.bureaucracytoday.com
By Dr VK Bahuguna
Virtuous bureaucracy:
Need of the hour
The writer is a former DG of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education.
At present, he is the Chairman of a trust, Foundation for Integrated Resource Management.
M
odern life is full of tension and
conflicts. On the top of it, there
are unjust actions on the part
of those who wield direct administrative
powers to deliver the programmes of
the Indian Government. On the other
hand, contemporary society needs
fair, accountable, responsive and just
government actions.
After Independence if we compare the
situation today there is more strife and
instability in society than it was around
five to six decades ago though the country
witnessed a massive increase in the per
capita income as well as in life expectancy.
One of the causes of strife apart from poor
governance is deterioration in the quality
of resources leading to natural disasters
like draughts, floods and the scarcity of
water and minerals.
If we analyse the modern governance
system in different situations, it is evident
that no form of government can deliver
the goods if the permanent machinery
is not inclined to serve for realizing the
aspirations of society and is not sensitive
to the emotions of the different segments
of society.
The bureaucracy of the time when India
won freedom had high moral values and
character and was virtuous. It was guided
by the high calibre political class which
was capable of handling errant officers.
The situation is very different now. Today
the political class is different and it is
nowhere near those who fought for India’s
Independence, nor do they have the virtues
of a large permanent machinery worth
mentioning given the numbers of cases
of maladministration and corruption and
consequent atrociously poor, partisan and
shabby decisions. The country has suffered
due to the botched up decision making
like the caste-based reservations and
succumbing to sectarian agitations which
are engulfing society.
The professional ethos are gradually
taking the back seat as an expediency
dominated approach is gaining ground. For
example, in forestry, the old foresters were
dedicated to the profession, had strength
and force in their character with vision.
The Malaysian Forestry Institution was
set up by Indian foresters in the 1960s.
Today Malaysia has assumed the forestry
leadership in Asia and India has lost its
leadership. Mismanagement rendered
these institutions headless for a long
time and also penniless. Science cannot
flourish in “babugiri or dadagiri”. It
needs innovations and out-of-the-box ideas
and resources. In the States many senior
foresters are at the loggerheads with each
other on trivial issues and sacrificing the
effectiveness of the profession. The seniors
instead of guiding the emerging young
talents are promoting sycophancy.
We find a very few articulate and
convincing foresters on the dais today
though more clever and wise men have
entered the service who are better in social
networking and low in professional ethos.
Some years ago, scientists and foresters
of the Dehradun-based Forest Research
Institute (FRI) produced world class
publications enhancing its reputation.
However, it did create problems elsewhere
in the corridors of power in Delhi and
ultimately the country is suffering.
Many clever officers today play politics,
especially in the higher echelons of power.
Today the fairness of even the senior-
most officers is in question. They can ruin
institutions by pulling wires in places. The
milieu is such that the number of value-
centric officers is shrinking in the country.
I am not predicting doomsdays but am
yearning for improvement in governance.
The Government should make deliberate
wrong decisions by the bureaucracy an
unpardonable offence. It should launch a
“Swachh Prasashan” movement across
the country. The education system should
lay more emphasis on the values of Indian
culture. As a first step, the teaching
of moral education should be made
compulsory up to the graduate level and for
all competitive examinations.
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